Lotte Home Shopping donates W80m to renovate banchan kitchen for underprivileged in Yeongdeungpo

Lotte Home Shopping said Monday it held a reopening ceremony for Huimang Suragan — a banchan-sharing cooking facility inside the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office annex in Seoul — and presented a donation of 80 million won ($53,100) to the Yeongdeungpo-gu Social Welfare Council.

The renovation of Huimang Suragan took about three months. Outdated cooking equipment was replaced and the walls and interior were refurbished based on feedback from volunteer cooks. New furniture, including dining tables and chairs, was also installed. The cooking space and workflow were reorganized to improve efficiency and safety.

The donated funds will go toward food and lifestyle support projects for underprivileged residents of Yeongdeungpo-gu. Lotte Home Shopping also plans to expand its college student supporters program and employee volunteer activities to further develop the Huimang Suragan project. The company will recruit 15 student supporters, primarily food and nutrition majors, to develop customized healthy recipes for elderly residents living alone.

"We will continue to support healthy eating for our neighbors and carry on community-centered sharing based on the values of social contribution," said Kim Jae-gyeom, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping.